Alumnus Wins Two Latin Grammy Awards

By

Allen Bush

November 23, 2011

At the 12th annual Latin Grammy Awards held recently in Las Vegas, music production and engineering alumnus Benny Faccone ’78 added two more awards to his growing collection.Faccone won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album for Drama Y Luz, by Mexican pop/rock group Maná.Faccone won an additional Latin Grammy Award when Drama Y Luz earned the award for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal.With these, Faccone now has a total of nine Latin Grammy Awards.He also has four Grammy Awards.

Additional music production and engineering alumni were behind the boards on Latin Grammy Award-winning recordings.Producer Aureo Baqueiro '92, and engineers/mixers Nick Baxter '07 and Gustavo Borner '89 worked on Alex, Jorge Y Lena’s self-titled winner of the Latin Grammy for Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal.Baxter, Borner, and engineer/mixer Justin Moshkevich '07 worked on the Best Norteño Album Los Tigres Del Norte And Friends MTV Unplugged. Gustavo Celis '94 and Alex Leader '05 were the engineers/mixers on Shakira’s Sale El Sol, Best Female Pop Vocal Album.

Three faculty members perform on the Best Latin Jazz Album, Paquito D’Rivera’s Panamericana Suite.Bassist Oscar Stagnaro, drummer Mark Walker, and percussionist Dave Samuels, members of D’Rivera’s Panamericana Orchestra, are previous Latin Grammy Award recipients for various other recordings they’ve made with the Cubab-born jazz and classical composer and musician. Alumni Diego Urcola '90 and Pernell Saturnino '95 also appear on the album.

Since the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences founded the awards in 2000, Berklee alumni and professors have received 56 Latin Grammy Awards. Berklee alumni and faculty have also received a total of 205 Grammy Awards.